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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A journalist who has long covered the Middle East, Mackey destroys the myth that toppling Saddam Hussein will solve Iraq's problems and America's. She clearly traces the complex and diverse history of the country from its biblical roots to the present day. The most salient feature of the country, she argues strongly, is its fragility: Iraq is a patchwork of peoples (both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, as well as Kurds) that hangs together by a thread. Without addressing how these peoples can form a national identity, the author claims, a post-Saddam Iraq could be worse than the Balkans. But even though much of the book centers on Iraq's long history, it is the author's account of the past 40 years that is the most instructive. While much of the information about Saddam has been presented elsewhere, Mackey summarizes his career well: his seizure of power, with its emphasis on the country's Arab roots, came after a long time of local chaos, and his rule of terror has kept him in charge but led to wars that impoverished his people. "Like Baghdad at the end of the Gulf War, Iraq itself is a body whose skin is intact but whose bones are broken." Mackey's last chapter is her most chilling. If there is no focus on what will come after Saddam, she says,then Iraq's future the disintegration of the country into separate warring cantons will be a nightmare, both for its people and for the United States. With the Bush administration focusing on Iraq as the next step in its war against terrorism, this book sounds an important cautionary note.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Iraq has been a country of great interest to the United States since the 1991 Gulf War. Although that conflict ended over a decade ago with the military defeat of Saddam Hussein's forces and their expulsion from Kuwait, low-level U.S. bombing of Iraqi targets has continued to the present time. The events of September 11 have elevated Iraq to a higher level of concern to U.S. decision-makers. In recent months, calls for a massive attack against Iraq are being heard from different governmental and journalistic corners in the United States. Yet, Iraq and its history remain a mystery to most Americans. This highly readable, jargon-free, and evenhanded book goes a long way in providing a comprehensive account of Iraq's recent political history to Western readers. Mackey, a veteran journalist who has traveled to Iraq and has written extensively on the Middle East, has done an admirable job of explaining the myriad social, political, and cultural forces that have shaped the contours of the contemporary Iraqi state and its authoritarian political system. Recommended for all public libraries. Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, AL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
A journalist who has long covered the Middle East, Mackey destroys the myth that toppling Saddam Hussein will solve Iraq's problems and America's. She clearly traces the complex and diverse history of the country from its biblical roots to the present day. The most salient feature of the country, she argues strongly, is its fragility: Iraq is a patchwork of peoples (both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, as well as Kurds) that hangs together by a thread. Without addressing how these peoples can form a national identity, the author claims, a post-Saddam Iraq could be worse than the Balkans. But even though much of the book centers on Iraq's long history, it is the author's account of the past 40 years that is the most instructive. While much of the information about Saddam has been presented elsewhere, Mackey summarizes his career well: his seizure of power, with its emphasis on the country's Arab roots, came after a long time of local chaos, and his rule of terror has kept him in charge but led to wars that impoverished his people. "Like Baghdad at the end of the Gulf War, Iraq itself is a body whose skin is intact but whose bones are broken." Mackey's last chapter is her most chilling. If there is no focus on what will come after Saddam, she says,then Iraq's future the disintegration of the country into separate warring cantons will be a nightmare, both for its people and for the United States. With the Bush administration focusing on Iraq as the next step in its war against terrorism, this book sounds an important cautionary note.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Iraq has been a country of great interest to the United States since the 1991 Gulf War. Although that conflict ended over a decade ago with the military defeat of Saddam Hussein's forces and their expulsion from Kuwait, low-level U.S. bombing of Iraqi targets has continued to the present time. The events of September 11 have elevated Iraq to a higher level of concern to U.S. decision-makers. In recent months, calls for a massive attack against Iraq are being heard from different governmental and journalistic corners in the United States. Yet, Iraq and its history remain a mystery to most Americans. This highly readable, jargon-free, and evenhanded book goes a long way in providing a comprehensive account of Iraq's recent political history to Western readers. Mackey, a veteran journalist who has traveled to Iraq and has written extensively on the Middle East, has done an admirable job of explaining the myriad social, political, and cultural forces that have shaped the contours of the contemporary Iraqi state and its authoritarian political system. Recommended for all public libraries. Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, AL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
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